JP4614146B2 - Mixer system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a mixer system having a help display function capable of easily displaying a description of functions and the like related to the operators on a mixing apparatus having a large number of multifunction operators.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, electronic devices having various operators are known that have a so-called help function for displaying a description of functions of these operators.

For example, in Patent Document 1, in an electronic musical instrument having a plurality of switches having different functions for each operation mode, a function assigned to the switch is provided while a help instruction is given together with any of the plurality of switches. Disclosed is a technique for causing a display to display a display explaining a function assigned to the switch in the current operation mode without executing the function.
JP-A-5-277553 (Patent No. 3306755)

  By the way, in a mixing device that arbitrarily mixes musical sound signals input from a large number of input channels and applies various effects (such as reverberation) and outputs them to a plurality of arbitrary output channels if necessary, a very large number of them are displayed on the console. Switches, level adjustment faders, and volumes are provided, and many functions are assigned to these controls, so it is difficult to learn the functions of those controls and even an expert cannot remember them. there is a possibility.

  In addition, the display provided on the console of the mixing device is often small, and it becomes difficult to see when a lot of help information is displayed. On the other hand, the help function may be unnecessary for an expert who has learned operations on the mixing console.

  The present invention provides a mixing device having a large number of multifunctional operators, and can transmit more help information to the user with good operability, and also separates a help function that has become unnecessary due to skill in operation. The purpose is to provide a technology that enables the

  In order to achieve this object, a mixer system according to the present invention connects a mixing device and a personal computer (PC), and the mixing device includes a plurality of input channels for inputting a plurality of audio signals, and a plurality of input channels. A digital signal processing device (DSP) that performs signal processing on the audio signal input from the input channel, a plurality of operators for adjusting parameters related to signal processing by the DSP, and signal processing by the DSP A plurality of output channels for outputting the received audio signal, and means for receiving remote operation related to signal processing in the DSP from the PC and transmitting operation information of the operated operator among the plurality of operators to the PC. And the PC includes a helper that stores help information relating to each operation element of the mixing device. And a means for receiving operation information of an operator operated in the mixing device, a means for setting on / off of the instruction mode, and a GUI for performing remote control of the mixer operation when the instruction mode is off (Graphical user interface) An editor and means for reading out and displaying help corresponding to received operation information when the instruction mode is on are provided.

  When a predetermined time has elapsed since the help information was displayed on the instruction window, the instruction window may be displayed backward on the screen.

  As described above, according to the present invention, in the mixer system in which the mixing device and the PC are connected, when the instruction mode is OFF, the mixing device can be remotely controlled from the PC using the GUI editor. When the mode is on, help corresponding to the control information related to the operation of the mixing device can be displayed on the PC side. Since the computer connected to the mixing device receives the operation information in the mixing device and displays the help information related to the operation, the mixing device can be provided even if it has a large number of multifunctional operators like the mixing device. With a display that is larger than the screen, more help information can be conveyed to the user with good operability. If the user is proficient in the operation, the help information can be prevented from being displayed by turning off the instruction mode, and the computer can be disconnected from the mixing device if unnecessary.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a mixing apparatus to which the present invention is applied. The mixing apparatus 101 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 111, a memory 112, a communication interface 113, a digital signal processor (DSP) 114, an input unit 115, an output unit 116, and a mixing console 120. Reference numeral 110 denotes a bus line. A remote PC 103 is connected via the communication interface 113 of the mixing apparatus 101.

  The CPU 111 is a processing device that controls the operation of the entire mixing device. The memory 112 is a ROM storing a program executed by the CPU 111 or a RAM used as a work memory. The communication interface 113 is an interface that transmits and receives various data to and from the remote PC 103. The input unit 115 is a unit that inputs a plurality of microphone signals, line signals, and the like. The DSP 114 appropriately mixes microphone signals, line signals, and the like input from a plurality of input channels of the input unit 115, applies effects as necessary, and outputs them to any output channel of the output unit 116. The output unit 116 is a unit that digital / analog converts a signal output from the DSP 114 and outputs the signal to a speaker or the like. The mixing console 120 is a console operated by a user, and includes a plurality of controllers 121 and a display 124 on an external panel. The controller 121 includes various switches, a fader 122, an equalizer adjustment dial 123, and the like.

  The remote PC 103 has a function of transmitting / receiving various data to / from the mixing apparatus 101 via the communication interface 113, giving various instructions to the mixing apparatus 101, and displaying the state of the mixing apparatus 101. As a program for realizing the function, the remote PC 103 includes a mixer setting editing application 104. The mixer setting editing application 104 includes a GUI (graphical user interface) editor 105 and an instruction library 106. The GUI editor 105 is a program for performing various settings and editing related to the mixer operation of the mixing apparatus 101 from the remote PC 103 side. The instruction library 106 is a library that stores help information (manuals) related to various controls on the mixing console 120. The help information is stored in, for example, an HTML format or a PDF format, and is managed so that a page to be displayed can be read immediately when each operator is operated. Reference numeral 107 denotes a mouse, which may be another pointing device.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of the appearance of the controller 121 on the mixing console 120 of FIG. Reference numeral 200 is an example of a controller for one channel. 201 is an on / off switch for the channel, and 202 is a switch for designating on / off of a compressor (an effect imparting function for compressing the dynamic range of an acoustic signal). Reference numeral 203 denotes a panning adjustment dial for the channel, and reference numerals 204 to 206 denote equalizer adjustment dials for the channel. A fader 207 is used for adjusting the level of the channel. Such a controller 200 is provided for a predetermined number of channels.

  In the mixing apparatus 101 as described above, a variety of operators are provided in addition to the controller shown in FIG. 2, and it is very difficult to grasp the functions of all the operators. Help information can also be displayed on the display 124 provided on the console of the mixing apparatus 101, but the display is too small to display a sufficient amount of information. Therefore, in this embodiment, help information is displayed on the remote PC 103 (a large screen can be used) connected to the mixing apparatus 101 via the communication interface 113.

  FIG. 3 shows how help information is displayed on the remote PC 103. Reference numeral 301 denotes a mixer setting editing GUI window displayed on the display of the remote PC 103 when the mixer setting editing application 104 is executed on the remote PC 103. The user can use the window 301 to edit various settings for the mixing apparatus 101. Reference numeral 302 denotes an instruction mode button displayed in the window 301. FIG. 3A shows a state in which the instruction mode is off. When the instruction mode button 302 is clicked with the mouse 107 from this state, the instruction mode is set to ON. When the instruction mode button 302 is clicked again, the instruction mode is set to off. The display mode of the instruction mode button is different depending on whether the instruction mode is on or off. For example, the display color can be changed by turning on / off, or the button can be pushed in when turned on.

  When the operation elements of the various controllers 121 on the mixing console 120 of the mixing apparatus 101 are operated while the instruction mode is on, an instruction window 304 is displayed as shown in FIG. Displays help information such as function descriptions for controls. Further, when another operator is operated in the mixing apparatus 101, the contents of the instruction window 304 are rewritten into a help display regarding the operated operator. When a predetermined time elapses without any operation element being operated in a state where the instruction window 304 is displayed on the front (active state), the instruction window 304 is moved backward and displayed as shown in FIG. The When the operation device is operated in the mixing apparatus 101 in a state where the instruction window 304 is displayed on the back surface, the instruction window 304 is displayed on the foreground again as shown in FIG. Help information such as function explanations is displayed.

  When the instruction mode button 302 is clicked from the state where the instruction mode of FIG. 3B or FIG. 3C is on, the instruction mode is turned off, the instruction window is closed, and the state shown in FIG. Return.

  FIG. 4A is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the remote PC 103. In the remote PC 103, an operating system (OS) 401 is operating, and in the OS 401, a task controller that controls execution of a task is operating in accordance with an instruction. When the user instructs activation of the mixer setting editing application 104, the mixer setting editing application is executed as shown in step 402. The OS 401 includes a so-called window system, and other applications for the mixer setting editing application can be operated in parallel under the task controller.

  FIG. 4B shows a procedure of a mode switching process which is one of the GUI processes in step 502 of the mixer setting editing application described later with reference to FIG. When the instruction mode button 302 described with reference to FIG. 3 is clicked, this processing is executed in the GUI processing. In step 411, it is determined whether the instruction mode is currently turned on. If it is on, it is switched off at step 412 and the process is terminated. If it is off, it is turned on in step 413 and the process is terminated.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the mixer setting editing application. In step 501, an operation / setting information communication process is performed. This is a process for detecting the operation of the operator on the console of the mixing apparatus 101. It should be noted that when an operation element is operated on the mixing apparatus 101, all the operation information is transmitted to the remote PC via the communication interface 113. In step 502, various setting GUI processes in the mixer setting editing GUI window 301 are performed. Next, it is determined whether the instruction mode is turned on. When the instruction mode is off, if there is an instruction window opened in step 504, it is closed, the timer is turned off in step 505, and the process returns to step 501.

  As described above, when the instruction mode button 302 is clicked while the instruction mode is off, the processing of FIG. 4B is executed in step 502, and the instruction mode is turned on.

  If the instruction mode is on in step 503, it is determined in step 506 whether there is an operation event of any of the operators on the console 120 of the mixing apparatus 101. If there is an operation, it is determined in step 507 whether the instruction window is already open. If not open, an instruction window is opened in step 508, and a manual page corresponding to the operation of the operator detected in step 506 is displayed as help information in the front row of the screen. Thereafter, it is determined in step 509 whether or not the timer is turned off. If it is turned off, the timer is turned on (initialized) in step 510 and the process proceeds to step 512. If the instruction window is already open in step 507, the instruction window is moved to the front row of the display screen in step 511, and the manual page (read from the instruction library 104) corresponding to the detected operator operation is displayed. . After step 511, the process proceeds to step 510 to initialize the timer. If there is no operator operation event in step 506, the process proceeds to step 512.

  In step 512, the timer value is read, and it is determined whether a predetermined time has elapsed since it was turned on (initialized). If it has elapsed, the process proceeds to step 513, the instruction window is moved backward, the timer is turned off in step 514, and the process returns to step 501. If not, it is determined in step 515 whether there has been an activation operation for windows other than the instruction window. If not, the instruction window remains displayed in the foreground and the process returns to step 501 to continue the mixer setting editing process. When a window other than the instruction window is activated, the process proceeds from step 515 to step 513, and the instruction window is moved backward.

  If the mixer setting editing application is terminated in the GUI process in step 502, the process is terminated after a predetermined termination process.

  A flow in which the display of the help information described in FIG. 3 is executed in FIG. 5 will be briefly described. First, when the instruction mode is off, steps 501 to 505 are repeated to execute mixer setting editing processing while communicating with the mixing apparatus 101.

  When the instruction mode is turned on, the mixer setting editing process is continued by repeating the process of steps 501 → 502 → 503 → 506 → 512 → 515 → 501. At this time, there is no operation of the operator yet, and the timer remains off. However, in step 512, when the timer is off, the process proceeds to step 515. At this time, the instruction window is not displayed yet, but in step 515, the process returns to step 501.

  When the operation unit of the mixing device is operated while the instruction mode is on, the process proceeds from step 506 to step 507 described above, and an instruction window is displayed in the order of steps 507 → 508 → 509 → 510 → 512, and a help display is displayed. And the timer is turned on. Until the predetermined time elapses, the process proceeds from step 512 to 515, and if there is no activation operation for windows other than the instruction window, the process returns from step 515 to 501. When the predetermined time has elapsed, the process proceeds from step 512 to step 513, and the instruction window is moved backward.

In the above embodiment, the instruction window moves to the back after a predetermined time.
(1) Close the instruction window after a predetermined time.
(2) Hide (minimize) the instruction window after a predetermined time.
(3) After a predetermined time, the instruction window is reduced and moved to such an extent that other windows can be seen.
(4) When a specific operation is detected in the console 120 or the remote PC 103, not after a predetermined time, the instruction window is moved to the back or the window processing as described above is performed.
You may process as follows.

  In the above-described embodiment, the help information is displayed by opening the instruction window 304 separately. However, a help information display area is provided (or opened) in the mixer setting / editing window 301, and the help information is provided there. May be displayed.

  The instruction library 106 itself or a part or all of the help information included in the instruction library 106 may be supplied from another computer (server) connected to the remote PC. That is, a method of displaying necessary help information by downloading from an external computer may be adopted. For the connection between them, a communication protocol or communication interface such as TCP / IP (Internet connection), IEEE-1394, USB, RS-232C, various wireless interfaces may be used.

The figure which shows the structural example of the mixing apparatus to which this invention is applied Diagram showing an example of the appearance of the controller on the mixing console The figure which shows the mode of the display of help information in remote PC The flowchart figure which shows the flow of the process in remote PC Flowchart diagram showing the operation of the mixer settings editing application

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Mixing apparatus 101, 111 ... Central processing unit (CPU), 112 ... Memory, 113 ... Communication interface, 114 ... Digital signal processor (DSP), 115 ... Input unit, 116 ... Output unit, 120 ... Mixing console, 103: Remote PC.

Claims (1)

A mixer system in which a mixing device and a personal computer (PC) are connected,
The mixing device includes:
A plurality of input channels for inputting a plurality of audio signals;
A digital signal processing device (DSP) that performs signal processing on audio signals input from a plurality of input channels;
A plurality of operators for adjusting parameters relating to signal processing by the DSP;
A plurality of output channels for outputting audio signals signal-processed by the DSP;
Means for receiving a remote operation related to signal processing in the DSP from the PC and transmitting operation information of the operated operator among a plurality of operators to the PC;
The PC
A help library storing help information regarding each operation element of the mixing device;
Means for receiving operation information of an operator operated in the mixing device;
Means for setting instruction mode on / off;
A GUI (graphical user interface) editor for remote control of the mixer operation when the instruction mode is off;
A mixer system comprising: means for reading and displaying help corresponding to received operation information when the instruction mode is on.

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